That’s because the Heisman Trust itself has called and I’ve moved on to providing content for Heisman.com, the trophy’s official site. It’s an opportunity for me to become even more closely-associated with an award that’s been an integral part of my life these past 12 years.

Since I’ll be working directly for the Heisman Trust, it becomes a bit of a conflict of interest on my part to be commenting on the merits of the various candidates. Unfortunately, that means my straw poll will have to be set aside for now, as well as my ongoing public analysis of the race.

Luckily, there is no shortage of quality Heisman discussion out there, so I look forward to seeing what others have to say about the very interesting competition that takes place each fall. On the other hand, if you remain intrigued by the Heisman and are a fan of its tradition, I hope you stop by Heisman.com to see what we have to offer. My goal is to make the official site a vital resource for those who follow the race for the most prestigious trophy in sports.

Much gratitude is due to all those who’ve helped support this site over the years and to those who gave me an outlet elsewhere to air my opinions on this subject. We’re going to see how it goes with the Heisman for now, but it could be that I return here in a few months to continue the discussion. One never knows.

In the meantime, I’ll see you at Heisman.com later this week. Be sure to bookmark it. I hope you enjoy.

For NFL prospects hoping to hear their names called on draft day, the worst thing they can do to hurt their draft stock is get into trouble off the field. Over the weekend, former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott got arrested and charged with a DUI, and NFL online sportsbook odds have him dropping to the later rounds of the draft.

Before his arrest, Prescott was an intriguing prospect a lot of NFL teams were looking at because of his leadership skills and character. With the arrest, his character is going to come into question because it will be difficult for teams to know if this was an isolated incident or something that is likely to occur again.

Prescott released a statement apologizing for his actions and promised to learn from the ordeal. Prescott also promised to use better judgment in the future.

While the DUI arrest will be a factor when it comes to Prescott’s draft position, it likely won’t affect his stock too much because it was his first offense of this kind, and he has built up some goodwill with some of the NFL teams during the draft combine.

Prescott is also well liked and respected by his teammates and coaches, so his arrest will likely be seen as a fluke incident that won’t happen again.

Even though most experts believe Prescott’s arrest won’t have too negative an impact on his draft stock, you have to remember that not all teams will be willing to sweep it under the rug.

As a quarterback, Prescott will be relied on to lead his team to victory, and some teams may feel his arrest shows terrible decision making. Some teams like the Cleveland Browns might not want to deal with off the field distractions after their experience with Johnny Manziel, and not draft him, even though they need a quarterback.

As expected, Prescott’s former teammates and coaches have rallied to his defense, and the consensus if that he made a mistake, but it doesn’t define who he is.

Prescott is a very talented player and was impressive during the combine and at the Mississippi State pro day. He will be hoping that the teams he impressed during those workouts will be able to overlook his arrest.

With the NFL Draft coming up in April, Prescott will be asked about the arrest by every team official he speaks to, and would have to be completely honest with the team officials to assure them it won’t happen if he is drafted.

With the NFL under attack due to the behavior of some of the players in the league, teams are wary about drafting players with character issues. Since this is Prescott’s first offense, it is unlikely that a lot of teams will hold it against him. However, since the NFL is a business, the arrest will cost Prescott financially, especially if he drops in the draft.

The college football season came to wraps a few weeks ago, where we saw Alabama knock off Clemson in a shootout (45-40). This year we’ll see many of the same teams we saw last year competing for the title once again at the top of the rankings. Clemson is likely to return as a top contender, and although Alabama is losing a lot of players, they’re still heavily favored as well. Other top teams like Ohio State, Michigan State, Baylor, and Oklahoma will all be returning as well with top-heavy teams. Here are a few teams that might surprise fans or online sportsbooks like MyBookie this college football season.

#1: Ohio State:

It’s no surprise, but I think Ohio State should be one of the most favored teams in all of college football. The Buckeyes are coming off a season where they struggled a bit, but still ended up winning their bowl game against Michigan in dominant fashion. This year their quarterback woes should be figured out, and their defense should still be one of the best in the nation. Expect Ohio State to once again compete with the top teams in CFB, despite their odds of 15-1 to win the championship right now.

#2: Michigan:

Michigan looked like a championship team, aside from their two big losses, one of which was on a punt at the end of a game against the Spartans, and of course their crazy loss to Ohio State in the last game of the year. Jim Harbaugh is an amazing coach – we can all acknowledge that. This team is going to be coming back to the top of the Big Ten yet again this year. If they can manhandle Ohio State, I think they can win the championship outright. Finding that perfect Big 10 team is difficult, but Michigan or Ohio State is a great bet at 15-1 to win the title.

#3: Clemson:

Clemson is the current favorite by oddsmakers to win the title, at 6-1, and there’s good reason for the odds to be set so high. Deshaun Watson is coming back and will be better than ever. They aren’t losing any major players, and a few new recruits will be joining the Tigers. Deshaun Watson recently mentioned that he thinks the Tigers will be back. He hasn’t backed out on any guarantees yet! Expect Clemson to be a serious competitor this season, despite the negativity some fans are showing.

#4: Oregon:

Here’s a real longshot that might surprise a lot of fans. They had a terrible year in 2015, going 9-4 and losing in the Alamo Bowl 47-41. They had huge bright spots throughout the year though – when they shone, they really looked great. I think the Ducks can be serious contenders this next year, and they also have some intriguing prospects coming in, and aren’t really losing any huge play makers. If their offense can click like they were towards the end of the year in 2015, their odds at 30-1 look crazy.

The race for the 2015 Heisman Trophy is now over, so it’s worth looking back to see what kind of odds you would’ve gotten if you had correctly bet on the eventual winner, Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

One month later, on Heisman eve, Henry was at +150 and, of course, that bore out correctly. If you had bet Henry in July at sport.netbet.co.uk, you would’ve done quite well for yourself, while any bet on Boykin or Fournette would’ve fallen well short.

But while there is a significant talent disparity between these two teams — the Tide is loaded with NFL prospects — keep in mind that there are a few factors working in Mizzou’s favor.

Namely, there is the fact that the Tigers are working under the radar, with very little expectations. They were in the SEC title game last year, so they have some understanding of the stage on which they’ll play. Don’t expect Missouri to be wide-eyed and scared in this one. All the pressure is on the other side of the field.

Second, if there’s one tendency that Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has in games like this, it is to go conservative. We are likely to see the Tide play things close to the vest and try to ‘out-talent’ the Tigers. This should create an opening for Mizzou to out-scheme Bama.

The Tide struggled at times this year on offense, producing 10 points against Mississippi, 14 against Arkansas and 13 against LSU in regulation. If Kiffin decides to open things up, this game shouldn’t be a contest and Alabama will roll. But if he puckers, look for this one to go down to the wire.

If Missouri pulls off the upset, we’re likely to see the SEC left out of the four-team playoff. Who would’ve thought THAT would happen just a few weeks ago?

Mississippi State became college football’s new No. 1 this week thanks to three-straight wins over top 10 teams.

Now, Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott is the Heisman race’s new No. 1 after taking over the lead in HeismanPundit’s latest Heisman Straw Poll released on Tuesday (Oct. 14).

Prescott captured seven out of 10 first-place votes from the weekly survey of Heisman voters from around the country, tallying 25 total points while appearing on nine ballots. Prescott moved to the top spot after finishing second to Georgia running back Todd Gurley last week. The junior has a combined 22 touchdowns running and passing after six games.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota moved back up into second place, close behind Prescott with 21 points and three first-place votes. He has a sterling 17-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio and leads the nation in passing efficiency.

Voters seem settled on the top two candidates in this race at this point, but the rest of the field appears to be in flux.

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon took third place in the poll with just four points, while Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty and Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper tied for fourth with two points each.

Six other players appeared on ballots and tied for sixth place with one point to their credit, including last week’s poll leader Gurley, who is currently suspended while being investigated for improper dealings with a sports memorabilia dealer.

Washington linebacker/running back Shaq Thompson is one of the those tied for sixth and the first defensive player to appear in the HP poll during the 2014 season.

Now in its ninth season, HeismanPundit.com’s Heisman Straw Poll is the college football world’s most trusted gauge of Heisman voter sentiment. It has been the most accurate Heisman poll in the country during the past seven seasons, with the final 2012 poll correctly picking the top five finishers and the final 2011 poll picking the top seven. This year’s poll is made up of 10 anonymous Heisman voters from across the country. Each week during the season they will pick three players. Tabulations for the preseason poll are tabulated like a real Heisman ballot, with three points awarded for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.

Each week’s poll is released on Tuesdays throughout the season at HeismanPundit.com. .

Here is the week 7 edition of the 2014 HP Heisman Watch. After taking into account the games played so far, these are the players who have the best chance of actually winning the Heisman. This is not a prediction of the final order of the race, nor is it an endorsement of who would or should win if the vote were held today. It’s a long view of the race that takes into account schedule and statistical trends.

1. Marcus Mariota, JR, QB, Oregon

Oregon and Mariota bounced back this past Saturday against UCLA, as the Ducks whipped the Bruins, 42-30. Mariota passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and added 75 yards and two touchdowns rushing. This performance in a high-profile matchup, combined with the suspension of Todd Gurley, puts Mariota back into the front runner spot in the Heisman race. Barring injury, it appears that Mariota is on his way to a special season statistically. He’s on pace to have over 4,100 yards of offense and 49 combined touchdowns by the time the Heisman votes are due. As we’ve mentioned many times before, this type of production is in line with what the previous six Heisman-winning quarterbacks have produced. Mariota also leads the nation in passing efficiency and has an eye-popping 17-to-0 TD-to-INT ratio. Furthermore, he retains, arguably, the season’s most-impressive single-game outing against a quality defense thanks to his performance in Oregon’s win over Michigan State. The most likely scenario going forward in my estimation is that Mariota will continue to add to this sterling production while helping lead Oregon to the Pac-12 title. If this comes to fruition, Mariota is a fairly safe bet to win the Heisman. If other factors intrude — like another Ducks meltdown, a debilitating injury, or a dominant finish to the season by Dak Prescott — then Mariota’s road to the Heisman will be much tougher. As it stands, he and Prescott are the players with the best shot at winning and we could soon see this race evolve into a very tight two-man competition going into the season’s final stretch.

2. Dak Prescott, JR, QB, Mississippi State

Prescott has now emerged as the main challenger to Mariota for the 2014 Heisman after leading the Bulldogs to their third-straight win over a top 10 team. Prescott threw for 246 yards and a touchdowns (with two picks) and rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns in MSU’s surprisingly comfortable 38-23 win over then-No. 2 Auburn. As a result, the Bulldogs are now the No. 1 team for the first time in school history, giving Prescott’s candidacy a powerful narrative to support it. He is on pace for a remarkable season and, if he ups his production a bit, he could approach or even surpass the touchdown totals put up by Tim Tebow in 2007 (29 passing TDs, 22 rushing TDs). If he continues on his current statistical pace and the Bulldogs win the rest of their games, Prescott is going to win the Heisman going away. The only reason I have him No. 2 on this list right now is that it might be too much to ask for MSU to go undefeated given the remaining schedule that includes Alabama and rival Ole Miss. It’s certainly possible that Prescott can win the Heisman without having his team go undefeated, but one loss might have the damaging effect of removing the Bulldogs from the SEC title game, which means he’ll be sitting home on the final Saturday before the Heisman vote is due instead of adding to his already-impressive production. Nonetheless, Prescott is a lock for a trip New York and one of two main candidates to take home the trophy.

3. Everett Golson, JR, QB, Notre Dame

Golson threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns (with a pick) and helped the Irish avert a look-ahead disaster in vanquishing North Carolina, 50-43. As impressive as he’s been through six games, everything Golson has done up this point is merely prologue to the huge matchup in Tallahassee this Saturday against defending national champion Florida State. If Golson plays well and leads the Irish over the Seminoles, the Heisman race is going to be very interesting indeed the rest of the way. A potentially undefeated Notre Dame team headed for the college football playoff led by a quarterback with quality production and a sterling career record as a starter is going to be very attractive to a large swath of Heisman voters. On the other hand, it’s highly unlikely that Golson will be able to overtake Mariota and Prescott if FSU beats Notre Dame. The spotlight will be on Golson this week. Will he be ready for his closeup?

4. Melvin Gordon, JR, RB, Wisconsin

Gordon continues to spew out yards and touchdowns. He rushed for 175 yards and four touchdowns in Wisconsin’s 38-28 win over Illinois. As impressive as the yardage numbers were, they were actually a little below where he needs to be to remain on pace for the kind of production he needs to win the Heisman. However, he’s such an explosive back, he could easily make up for it in subsequent games. As it stands, he’s on pace for nearly 2,100 yards and 28 total touchdowns in 12 games. The key is going to be whether he can help the Badgers get to the Big Ten title game. That extra matchup against a marquee opponent will give him a chance to pad his already-impressive numbers. If some of the quarterbacks in this race slip up along the way, Gordon’s monster season could attract considerable Heisman attention. It also helps that Gurley’s exit removes an extra running back from the competition. Whatever the case, I like his chances of getting to New York.

5. Ameer Abdullah, SR, RB, Nebraska

Abdullah and Nebraska were off this past weekend. While he was stopped cold against Michigan State in his last outing, Abdullah remains on pace for a stellar season with a chance to top 2,000 yards. Given the remaining schedule, its seems quite possible that the Cornhuskers will win out and land in the Big Ten title game. So Abdullah might get a chance to redeem himself against either Ohio State or Michigan State on the weekend before the Heisman votes are due.

6. J.T. Barrett, FR, QB, Ohio State

Barrett was off this past weekend. As its stands, the redshirt freshman is on pace to have the best season for a quarterback in Ohio State’s long and storied history. It’s looking more and more like the Buckeyes will be 7-1 when they take on Michigan State in East Lansing. If Barrett continues to play like he’s been playing while leading OSU over Sparty and some of the other candidates in this race slip up, he might have a shot at being the third-straight redshirt freshman to win the Heisman. He’s currently on pace for almost 4,000 yards of offense and 45 touchdowns in 12 games. Beat Michigan State and he’ll be able to add to those numbers in the Big Ten title game. If Ohio State is 12-1 at that point and primed for a playoff spot, Barrett’s production could propel him to the Heisman.